Jesus reminds the church of Ephesus of his nearness, a fact that should bring great comfort but also gently provides them with loving accountability. He commends them for their zeal in fighting against false doctrine, but he rebukes them for loving their holiness instead of his on their behalf, and ultimately, for loving themselves more than him. The heart of a Pharisee potentially beats in all of us and we must be on constant guard against self-righteousness. "I love Jesus, therefore he accepts me and is pleased with me" must consistently be replaced with "Jesus loves and accepts me, therefore I gladly and freely love him and others!". May this message to the church in Ephesus be a warning to us as well and may we run to the one who is always near, confess our hypocrisy, and move out in love as we are loved by Jesus.

The sermon notes and reflection questions are available for download in Portable Document Format (PDF). To get a copy, click the Downloads button, then click either Sermon Notes or Reflection.